2,434 Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Bought by American National Bank & Trust Co. VA

American National Bank & Trust Co. VA purchased a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $524,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $959,260,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $253,563,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in CME Group by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,589,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,072,654,000 after buying an additional 1,172,575 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in CME Group by 31.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,858,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $972,863,000 after buying an additional 1,163,103 shares during the period. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $113,772,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $206.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Bank of America lifted their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Argus lifted their price target on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.90.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME traded down $1.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $196.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,237,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,471,441. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.11 and a 12 month high of $223.80. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $204.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $208.32. The company has a market cap of $70.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total transaction of $526,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,673,946.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total value of $526,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,673,946.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,290 shares of company stock worth $11,393,700 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.